On a recent business trip to Italy, some local colleagues made hotel arrangements for me. While I appreciate the assistance, I usually prefer to book my own hotels, especially internationally to leverage my hotel status for an often better experience. After this trip, while convenient, this tiny hotel room was among the smallest rooms I’ve had, and booking my own place is still my preferred option.
My tiny hotel room in Turin
On my leisure travels in Europe, I’m often redeeming points, and I’ve had some excellent experiences. Some favorites include the Park Hyatt Zurich, the Hotel Alfonso XIII in Seville. While there are some super properties, many non-chain European hotels are often small, and shall we say traditional. This particular hotel in Turin was very convenient to where I was working, but not exactly luxurious. The bed was tiny, but thankfully long enough for me, so I slept fine. I only stayed here 3 nights, and my colleagues were also here, so I didn’t want to cause trouble and try to find another place to stay.
Another thing about these traditional hotels is the keys that are intended to stay on property. There often is a giant and/or heavy key fob to discourage keeping the key when leaving the hotel. The staff at the front desk was very friendly, and somehow managed to mostly keep track of which guest was in which room. The hotel was relatively small, and when approaching the reception desk, they often had the keys for each guest ready.
Breakfast was included in the hotel too. A typical continental breakfast was offered, plus with it being Italy, barista made coffee. I am normally a tea drinker, but since I knew ordering a drink with milk after 10am would be most frowned upon, I knew to order cappuccino during breakfast at the hotel.
Elsewhere in Turin
Dining in Italy is always a pleasure. My first night there, I was on my own. I realized the original Eataly store was nearby, so I decided to check it out. Normally eating in a chain is something I avoid, but given jet lag, I was a bit lazy. Plus, it was pretty impressive to see all of the products in this giant market. Another issue I’ll blame on me being tired is that the main dish I ordered there was not what I intended. A combination of bad translations from my mediocre Spanish and Google Translate meant what I thought was some sort of sausage with goat cheese sandwich consisted of raw meat. Tasty, but not at all what I thought it would be. Whoops. No ill effects after the fact, so no regrets.
Had countless other tasty items as well, including this prosciutto with cheese. As is typical in Europe, meals are fresh and most menus change based on what is available locally and in season. Not that cured meat and cheese are in season per se, but dining in Italy is a pleasure.
We also had multiple coffee breaks during the day. Again, I am normally a tea drinker, and I had tea a few times, but I couldn’t pass up coffee on occasion. Turin is the home of Lavazza coffee, and due to exacting standards, coffee in Italy is good most anywhere. There are still no Starbucks locations in the country, but apparently that is changing. I’m no connoisseur, but for a coffee fan, Italy is a great place to go.
Final thoughts on my tiny hotel room
Despite my tiny hotel room, I had a decent trip to Turin. Being literally a few steps away from where I worked made this hotel experience worth the lack of space and more high end amenities. Plus the price was right. Convenience is always appreciated, but I still hope to make my own hotel arrangements when possible for future travels.
